"I matter...right?"

Mr. Rogers Video

The most challenging aspect of teaching is not lesson planning, testing or time-management ~ for me, it is intentionally loving every child, every day right where they are at. And let me tell ya friend, that might be under a table, wandering in the Dinosaur Center when they are supposed to be writing or sliding under a restroom stall to bother the kid next door!

Increasingly, kids are arriving to school with more baggage than Imelda Marcos. My most challenging students already are keenly aware that they are "different" than their peers. They are desperately seeking love, acceptance and the reassurance that they are not somehow a "mistake".

The science of  teaching has grown exponentially with the concurrent growth of technology. We now can actually "watch" learning occur  in the brain via MRI scans. When a child's brain receives information through experiences and interactions, little dendrites begin to fire-off until they make a connection. Unfortunately, those experiences may be positive or negative, leaving an indelible mark on the brain and person. The troubled child often has no sense of self-worth. The same troubled children become troubled teens and finally adults who are simply wanting to hear ..."you matter...just your being you...you matter".

A walk down the aisle of a Christian bookstore points to the reality that Christian's are not immune to feelings of inferiority and worthlessness. In fact, I would wager to say that the greatest book sales among Christian's have very little to do with theology, spiritual formation or Biblical exegesis, but rather the psychology of being affirmed as a person. The cynic may describe this as the churches decline into narcissism, which holds some truth. However, the need for humans to know they exist for a purpose, that they have a value and are not somehow a freak of nature has been present since the beginning of time. As a matter of fact, God has placed this yearning in the soul of every human. It is from this place that a soul searches for their Creator. It is in this place that peace is established and love is formed.

When my two youngest children were little I cared for  a friend's two children in my home. Every morning at 9:15, we would listen to the missionary, Elisabeth Elliot on the radio. She began every broadcast with the following affirmation; "You are loved with an everlasting love, That is what the Bible says, And underneath are the everlasting arms"....

The four little children would halt their play at these words....quietly meander nearer to the radio, and sit serenely as they listened to the perspicacious words of the speaker from the Word of God.

The video clip from an episode of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood at the onset of this blog is one of the most authentic and beautiful examples of affirming another human being ~ it is this kind of human connection that I desire to make with every lesson I teach, whether the lesson takes place in a classroom, hallway, on the restroom floor or under the cafeteria table...God, how I need your grace!!!

"I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with loving-kindness."

"The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms"

The Word of the LORD.

~ Tami

My prayer today is to Love as God has Loved me....to Affirm as God has Affirmed me...to sow Peace as I have been granted Peace...In the name of The Father, Sonand Holy Spirit, Amen.